complete verse (Mark 7:31)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 7:31:

  • Uma: “From there Yesus left the village of Tirus and continued his journey passing by the village of Sidon, and returned again to lake Galilea, arriving at the land of Dekapolis.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “So-then Isa left from the places at Tiros and went back again to (places) near the lake Jalil. He went through the place Sidon passing by the place/country they call Ten Towns.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when Jesus went home, he passed through the city of Tyre and through the province called the Ten Towns, and then to the sea of Galilee.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Then Jesus left Tiro and walked through Sidon, then the region of the Ten Cities, and returned to lake Galilea.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When Jesus was returning now from that place which was in the district of Tiro, he came to Sidon, and then went on to the Lake of Galilea. He also passed through the place called Decapolis.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Mark 7:31

Exegesis:

The route indicated by this verse is difficult to understand (cf. commentaries in loc.), but the language itself is clear in its meaning as the text stands.

horiōn (cf. 5.17) ‘boundaries region.’

eis tēn thalassan tēs Galilaias (cf. 1.16) ‘to the Sea of Galilee.’

ana meson tōn horiōn Dekapoleōs ‘through the middle of the region of the Decapolis.’

ana meson ‘through’ or ‘within’; Moule suggests ‘right through.’

Dekapolis (cf. 5.30) ‘the Decapolis.’

Translation:

In some languages the combination of ‘returned’ and ‘went’ may be impossible. A possible adaptation may be ‘went back from the region of Tyre to the Lake of Galilee. In doing this he went through the region of Sidon and the region of the Ten Cities.’ (Note that Sidon is to the north of Tyre, and according to this description of the journey Jesus must have made a circuit to the north and then approached the Lake of Galilee from the east.)

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of Mark. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1961. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .